1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to machines utilizing pressure rolls to alter a material passing therebetween, and more specifically, to a calender roll machine for processing a continuous web of tire cord.
2. Prior Art
It is the current practice, in the manufacture of webbing, especially for tire cords, to notice visually any splice or juncture in that webbing by the machine operator as it is pressed and coated with rubber in the machine prior to its being taken into the calender rolls. The machine has to be slowed down, or stopped, and the rolls drawn apart by manual control of the operator. This procedure slows down the manufacture of the web or cord and promotes excessive waste in the cord which is improperly processed. If this operation is not even manually done, the cord would break and much worse efficiency would befall the operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,958 describes a machine that senses breakage in a running thread. The machine described, however, is stopped at the time of sensing in a manner that would be uneconomic and inefficient for the manufacture of tire cord. U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,643 describes a splice finder in a continuous magnetic tape, but at the point of actual processing, which would be too late in the operational sequence for webbing, such as tire cords being pressed and coated. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,856 describes a system to detect abnormalities in paper feed arrangements in printers, but are not suggestive of use with the manufacture of webs of tire cords that are being coated with rubber and pressed in calender rolls.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a calender roll machine for the automatic manufacture of tire cord which will operate efficiently, at constant speed.